Being a theater person is a lot of things, most importantly it is lifestyle. Everything you do becomes based upon this one little fact about yourself. Every time you do something dramatic it becomes "Oh, it's because I'm a theater person." I actually think being a theater person is the coolest thing about me, I wish that I could own seven shirts that say "I am a theater person" and wear one every day. Theater is so much more than something to brag about or excuses to be dramatic.
Theater is a way of life, theater is a passion, theater is the ability to self-express. You can't be a theater person and not have it completely surround your life. Theater people understand what it means to create something from the bottom up, whether it be a set or a character. They understand being denied over and over again but coming back every time because a life without theater is worse that not getting the part. They truly understand what theater is.
Theater is spending hours and hours to build a set that gets torn down as soon as the final curtain drops, then coming back Monday and doing it all again. Theater is taking this character that is not you that you never met and making them into a living human being and the after the two hours leave them on the stage. Theater is bringing the most real emotions of the human capacity and putting them on stage for people to watch.
I am so blessed to have gone through schools that encouraged and supported theater departments. In middle school the seed was planted and in high school it turned into a big beautiful tree that was never going to be cut down, not it even by me. My passion and love for theater grew into something that couldn't be explained. It was overwhelming and pure, it was the one thing that allowed me to be truly me.
I wish that everyone could be a theater person for at least one day to understand that this feeling is something true. It isn't being egotistical and wanting 15 minutes of fame. It is something you can turn to because you aren't good at school. It isn't just a play. I could go on forever about the importance of theater education.
So, here is to the Theater People. To the ones whose theater endeavors ended after high school. To those who are pursuing it in college. To the ones who are wanting to give the passion that was given to them to other children. To the ones who want their the day on Broadway. To the ones who want to build sets for something big. To the ones who design the most beautiful lighting. To the ones who want to change lives with theater. Here is to them. Just remember, "Act well thy part, there all the honor lies."
